Bates Motel’s primary focus is almost always on the relationship between Norma and Norman Bates, leaving Norma’s other son Dylan out in the cold to create his own, usually less exciting stories. As the relationship splinters between Norman and Norma this season, Norma is left searching for someone new to confide in. With “Unbreak-Able,” the positions of Norman and Dylan are almost completely reversed from when we started this series, with Dylan now the confidant to Norma, while Norman sees his mother as self-centered, and always trying to make everything about herself. In doing this, we finally get one of the most interesting Dylan-centered episodes that we’ve seen in quite some time.
This trading of places puts our characters in positions that, understandably, don’t feel right and leave the whole episode feeling strange for these changes—but in a good way. This week Norman is basically using his relationship with Emma to frustrate his mother, almost as if he’s trying to make her jealous. While working on homework with Emma, Norman starts uncharacteristically making out with her, solely because he sees his mother coming. Later when he mentions making food for a picnic, he chooses his words wisely to make Norma think she’s going along with him, only to sweep the rug out from under her, telling her it’s for him and Emma, and that she’s not invited.
While we know that Norman is a killer, and his biggest victims are to come, Bates Motel has been smart this season in making this passive-aggressive behavior feel more like an angry teenager’s than a murderer playing some weird games with his prey. To be fair, Norma has suspected him of killing Annika—which turned out to be misguided—and now she and Dylan are keeping the secret of the mysterious flash drive Annika gave Norma from Norman. It’s understandable that he might want to act out like this when the person he most trusted in the world doesn’t trust him back.
Unfortunately Norman’s actions are also hurting others, as his romantic picnic with Emma turns into a hypothermic trek that ends with Norman repeating his mother’s wishes, saying he shouldn’t have sex with Emma. Not only that, but upon seeing that Caleb is working with Dylan, he sets off to tell his mother the news, which will probably hurt Dylan more than anyone.